New Ukrainian Wood Church of Poienile de Sub Munte, inside. © Jürgen Sauer

"A pile of boards and a locked door impede the entrance, but as we’re peering in the windows a workman opens the door and invites us in. The scale and intricacy of the world we enter halts our breaths. The iconostasis—panel upon panel of glimmering sacred images stacked between ornately carved wooden frames and columns—soars into starred and angeled heavens. The walls are lined with processions of haloed saints, and immense scenes of contemplation and glory animate the lower reaches of the vaulted ceiling. All bursts with color—not a square centimeter of wall, ceiling, or door goes unadorned—and all seems to be lit with an internal glow..."

— pages 111-112, Into the Carpathians, Part 1
© Alan E. Sparks